Fwd: DOCTOR YOURSELF Newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 3 January 5, 2004)

[Guest guest]

" Andrew W. Saul "

DOCTOR YOURSELF Newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 3 January 5, 2004)

Mon, 5 Jan 2004 16:05:02 -0500

 

To for free: dynews- )

 

" Every problem is simple when it is explained. " (Sherlock Holmes)

 

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol. 4, No. 3 January 5, 2004)

 

" Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A. "

 

Written and copyright 2004 by Andrew Saul, PhD, of

http://www.doctoryourself.com , which welcomes nearly a million visitors

annually. Commercial use of the website or the contents of this Newsletter

is strictly prohibited.

 

MEGA-VITAMINS FOR MINI-PATIENTS

 

After my last Newsletter (http://www.doctoryourself.com/news/v4n2.txt) about

the sick, under 20-pound baby that needed 20,000 milligrams of vitamin C to

get well, many readers have asked, " Exactly how do you get that much vitamin

C into a baby? "

 

As an alumnus of the Mary Poppins School of Medicine, let me say that the

answer is sugar.

 

Yes, sugar, that universal bane of health writers. Sweet, sweet sugar is the

way to get little kids to take tons of sour, sour ascorbic acid. Of course,

you can simply use children's chewable vitamin C. Many kinds are really

delicious, but they are pricey. Pure ascorbic acid dissolved in sugar water

is the cheapest " solution " to the flu problem that there is.

 

Now I am not suggesting that you gorge your offspring on sugar. I'm simply a

realist. This is cheap, and it works. And it works with sick kids at three

AM. If you put vitamin C powder in really sweet natural fruit juice, that

often does the trick, too. Remember to put ALL the C in just SOME of the

juice. A child is more apt to down a small amount because it looks easy. My

older brother tried to teach me how to ride a bicycle by putting me on his.

It did not work because I was afraid of being up too high. At a playground

one day, I borrowed a little kid's tiny two-wheeler, and taught myself to

ride it in 5 minutes. Later, I could ride my brother's big bike just fine.

So put all the C in a small volume of sweetened liquid, and after it's gone

down the hatch, immediately have on hand a " chaser " of sweet, sweet juice.

Your children will correctly see this as the bribe it is. Reward their

tastebuds for bravely taking their C powder, and by golly they will keep

doing it. For especially tricky kids, offering a tasty dessert food (such as

a bite of cake) for a chaser makes it a lot less likely to come back up at

you. Just a spoonful of pastry helps the vitamins go down. . . and stay

down.

 

THINK BIG, EVEN IN LITTLE PEOPLE

 

Remember: it takes a huge amount of vitamin C to act as an antiviral,

antibiotic, antitoxin, and antihistamine. Expect to have to use as much as

1,000 milligrams of vitamin C per pound of baby. You may very well get cure

with less, but probably not a lot less.

 

You can either use enough, or have a sick kid. I made my decision nearly

thirty years ago. My children were raised all the way into college and never

once had a single dose of any antiviral or antibiotic. Of course they got

sick sometimes. But it's how they got well that counts: we used vitamin C,

and plenty of it.

 

Bowel tolerance indicates saturation of vitamin C. When junior is on the

pot, the coughing and sneezing will be gone. See for yourself.

 

" THERE HAS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE IN HERE SOMEWHERE! "

 

That's a reader's first concern when presented with the idea of enormous

vitamin C doses. And, you're right: there is indeed a safety issue, and here

it is:

 

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is safer than any medication on the market.

Period.

 

ACIDITY

 

To comfort all sensitive tummies, buffer any excess acidity with any

combination of calcium, food and liquid. You can also buy non-acidic vitamin

C. This is especially tooth-friendly and especially important in purchasing

chewables.

 

But whether it's chewables or powder, non-acidic or not, get the child in

the habit of rinsing their mouth with water after each dose regardless.

 

(A reminder, especially for new Newsletter rs: I do not offer

recommendations as to what products to buy or where to look for them. That

is what health food stores and Google searches are for. I have absolutely no

financial connection with the commercial side of healthcare, and that's the

way it is going to stay. Caveat emptor.)

 

READERS SAY

 

H. N. writes:

 

" My husband and I adopted a 15-month old boy from China in March, 2002. He

was tiny for his age, had rickets and bald spots, and brittle hair. We began

supplementing immediately with liquid vitamins. Since then with good

nutrition and TLC, he's made huge improvements. But as of January, 2003, he

still had not attained the lowest percentile on the US weight charts. He's

always been a very big eater, especially for a toddler; the doc calls this

" compensatory eating. " After a conversation within our family about how to

help the little guy put on some more weight, and research (including your

newsletter and site), I began giving him vitamin C. We worked our way up to

3 grams a day and about 1/8 a tablet of 100 mg niacin for toddler temper, as

needed.

 

" At his next weight check in April, the fellow had put on 2 1/2 lbs, thus

edging his way onto the weight charts. The doc was very impressed. I believe

the addition of the vitamin C really helped him put a little weight on his

bones. He stayed remarkably healthy. The doc remarked that he was expecting

to see him for flu, winter colds, or at least something, given his somewhat

compromised nutritional status. I also think the vitamin C helped him fight

off colds. He is in a preschool, and has come home with sniffles, but at the

first sign I would aggressively supplement with C and he'd gobble them down:

up to 12,000 milligrams for a 25 pound boy with no diarrhea. It really

works. "

 

Right on! Your child is so very fortunate to have parents like you. Thank

you for sending in your wonderful story.

 

SENATOR CLINTON FINALLY RESPONDS TO MY LETTERS

 

I have not heard a word from U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (NY). But after many

weeks, repeated phone calls, three letters (and then publishing one of my

letters and sending their office a copy), I did get the following response

from Senator Clinton:

 

" December 23, 2003

 

" Dear Dr. Saul:

 

" Thank you for taking the time to share with me your concerns regarding the

Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003. I would like to take a moment to

update you on this bill and why this bill is important to protect the health

and safety of all Americans.

 

" Recently the supplement ephedra has been linked to an increasing number of

deaths in high school, college and professional athletes and others. The

supplement is commonly used by teenagers and young adults to lose weight and

optimize physical performance. Had we known the consequences sooner, these

deaths could have been averted.

 

" At the same time, I strongly believe that dietary supplements with a

history of safe use can be part of an overall individual program to improve

health and wellness, and I oppose attempts to eliminate the availability of

important vitamins or other products.

 

" Under current law, unlike drug manufacturers, dietary supplement

manufacturers are not required to prove safety or efficacy prior to

marketing a product. Instead, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must

prove that a supplement poses a significant or unreasonable risk of illness

in order to take action. However, the lack of reporting and data about the

effects of the supplements make it impossible to prove that a health threat

exists.

 

" This bill ensures that dietary supplement manufacturers continue to be

protected from the pre-market testing required of drug companies. It even

ensures that the FDA must meet the same standard of showing significant or

unreasonable risk of illness before taking action. The only change is that

it requires reporting so that the data exists for FDA to examine, and gives

the manufacturer a chance to submit alternative data, demonstrating that the

dietary supplement is safe.

 

" I believe that we should preserve a role for healthy lifestyles that

include dietary supplements. I also believe that good reporting and

collection of data that enable us to monitor the safety of supplements is

part of necessary oversight to ensure the health and safety of young people,

athletes, and others who rely on manufacturers and the FDA when deciding to

use these products. For this reason, I am a co-sponsor of Senator Durbin's

Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003 modeled after the American Medical

Association's recommendations. It requires dietary supplements manufacturers

to report serious adverse experiences and to investigate such occurrences.

The New York State Senate is considering similar legislation.

 

" I also think that existing laws should be properly enforced. Therefore, I

am a co-sponsor the DSHEA Full Implementation and Enforcement Act of 2003,

introduced by Senators Harkin and Hatch. This bill provides increased

funding so the FDA can have the resources to support DSHEA and protect the

health and safety of all Americans.

 

" I appreciate and respect your strongly held views. Please be assured that I

will continue to work on behalf all New Yorkers and all Americans to ensure

that the best and most appropriate public health standards are in place.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please check my website at

http://clinton.senate.gov for regular updates on this and the many other

important health issues being discussed before the United States Senate.

 

" Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton "

 

 

ERRORS IN SENATOR CLINTON'S REASONING

 

First, the ephedra issue is a legislative smokescreen. A simple reading of

the so-called " Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003 (S. 722) reveals the

real FDA agenda: to gain control over all supplements, especially vitamins.

Here are actual excerpts from the bill just as it is now being proposed in

the U.S. Senate. Only the emphasis is added:

 

" SEC. 416. ADVERSE EXPERIENCES WITH DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS. (a) DEFINITIONS

" (1) ADVERSE DIETARY SUPPLEMENT EXPERIENCE- The term " adverse dietary

supplement experience " means an adverse event that is associated with the

use of a dietary supplement in a human, WITHOUT REGARD TO WHETHER THE EVENT

IS KNOW TO BE CAUSALLY RELATED TO THE DIETARY SUPPLEMENT. "

 

 

Think about that and re-read it. This is federal legislation based on

hear-say. Do you think that is a good idea?

 

How about this section:

 

" (d) SAFETY REVIEW FOR POSSIBLY DANGEROUS DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS `(1) IN

GENERAL- If a clinical evaluation by the Secretary (of the FDA) of **ONE

(1)** or more serious adverse events indicates that a dietary supplement or

a dietary ingredient contained in a dietary supplement appears to present a

significant or unreasonable risk of illness, the Secretary may require the

manufacturers of the dietary supplement, or of a dietary ingredient

contained in a dietary supplement, to submit to the Secretary data

demonstrating that the dietary supplement containing the dietary ingredient

is safe. "

 

This section of the law says that just one single adverse report is enough

to trigger FDA crackdown on any supplement. Now take this together with the

first section, which states that the supplement does not even have to cause

an adverse effect to be considered dangerous.

 

What have you got? You have this: A single complaint about any supplement,

even if such complaint is absolutely groundless and false, automatically

hands FDA absolute power to judge and restrict that supplement. As FDA has a

long and well-documented history of bias against supplements, FDA supplement

rulings can be expected to be favorable to pharmaceutical interests and

welcomed by medical societies.

 

Here is what FDA can do next:

 

(2) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF CONTINUED MARKETING- As soon as practicable

after receiving data required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall

review the data and issue a determination that-- `(A)(i) the dietary

supplement is safe; and `(ii) the continued marketing of the dietary

supplement is approved; or `(B)(i) the dietary supplement is not safe or has

not been shown to be safe under ordinary or frequent conditions of use; and

`(ii) the continued marketing of the dietary supplement is disapproved. "

 

This section confirms the bill's intent to give FDA absolute power to

regulate all supplements. Do not be fooled.

 

 

WHY IT'S NOT ABOUT EPHEDRA:

 

FDA WANTS TO GRAB CONTROL OF YOUR VITAMINS

 

Many of my readers, who have become letter-writing citizen activists, have

indicated that many a misguided Senator supporting S. 722 is making much of

the alleged dangers of ephedra. Do you see the word " Ephedra " anywhere in

the proposed law as quoted above?

 

Here is the bill in its entirety: http://www.doctoryourself.com/limitUSA.htm

 

Do you see the word " ephedra " anywhere in the text of S. 722?

 

That's right, you don't. It is not there at all, not even once.

 

Yet alleged ephedra deaths are the clear focus of Senator Clinton's letter,

as well as that of many other Senators who have provided responses.

 

The reason you do not see the word " ephedra " anywhere in S. 722 is because

this proposed law, and all laws like it, have broad purpose. They are

well-planned, premeditated power-grabs intended to usurp the rights of a

free people to freely purchase nutritional supplements.

 

By slyly not targeting any particular supplement, FDA stands to gain total

control over all of them.

 

" SAFETY " or DOLLAR SIGNS?

 

The proposed so-called " Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003 " (S. 722) is

unnecessary to ensure public safety. Here is evidence why: FDA has already

gone ahead and banned ephedra! As I have said for a long time, FDA has

always had the power to remove any suspected harmful product from the

shelves at any time. No delays are involved: FDA can pull any dangerous food

or drug immediately.

 

FDA's ephedra ban proves it. Even though S. 722 is still a bill pending in

Senate committee, FDA banned ephedra anyway, without it.

 

And in this instance, I do not completely disagree with this individual FDA

action. But I most strongly oppose handing the Secretary of the FDA the

absolute and dictatorial control as S. 722 would provide. It is overkill,

and intentionally so.

 

Senator Clinton's response fails to show that she comprehends this.

 

Euphemistically named " The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003, " S. 722 is

not about safety, as deceptively claimed. " Safety " is the excuse offered up

to the public to hide a broad-based power grab that can and will limit your

access to vitamin supplements.

 

If you do not believe this, look at what has already happened in Britain,

Australia and in most of Europe. A site search for " CODEX " at

http://www.doctoryourself.com will provide background information.

 

I think it is really all about money: medical industry money.

 

Here is one reason why I say so. Senator Clinton wrote, " Senator Durbin's

Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003 modeled after the American Medical

Association's recommendations. " Is that supposed to be a persuading

endorsement? It sure doesn't do it for me. To ask the AMA for advice about

supplements is like asking the devil what church you should attend.

 

Here, then, is the real story: S. 722 GIVES THE SECRETARY OF THE U.S. FOOD

AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION ABSOLUTE, BLANKET POWER TO REGULATE YOUR ACCESS TO

EVERY SINGLE SUPPLEMENT YOU MAY USE.

 

Do you think that is right? If you do, then you need do nothing. But if you

oppose FDA regulating your access to supplements, and S. 722 would do no

less, then you have a task in front of you: write your senators, again, and

back them down with the truth. Do your senator (and the nation) a favor:

write today! And please send me a copy of your response.

 

(Remember that you can read the full text of this (and any other) proposed

law at http://thomas.loc.gov . In this case, type in " S. 722 " into the

search box.)

 

SOME HEADLINE HOCUS-POCUS

 

Hear are two actual headlines that recently appeared, concurrently, in the

news media:

 

1) " FDA BANS EPHEDRA "

 

2) " FDA PANEL RECOMMENDS OVER-THE-COUNTER 'MORNING AFTER' PILL "

 

To quote Moe Howard of the Three Stooges, " Is everybody dumb? " Here is an

almost comical but entirely real-life oxymoronic situation, rendering any

commentary I could offer pretty much superfluous.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: FDA really stands for " Favors

Drugs Always. "

 

READERS SAY:

 

" I was reading your Breakfast Blast

(http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulslurry.html) and thought it interesting.

I am the biggest fan of Norman W. Walker. I read his books (Fresh Vegetable

and Fruit Juices, The Natural Way To Vibrant Health, Become Younger,

Vegetarian Guide To Diet and Salad) on a daily basis. I might suggest in

your " Breakfast Blast " you squeeze a lemon and add to your drink. I follow

Dr. Walker's advice, in that upon waking, I have some lemon with warm

distilled water followed by orange juice 15 minutes later. Then, I really

start the day off with a pint of carrot or carrot combo. I also add some

alfalfa leaf powder. Throughout the day, I also consume, at work, several

pints of a mixture of one part grapefruit juice; three parts distilled

water; 1 tablespoon natural apple cider vinegar; and 1/2 lemon.

 

" This has helped me in more ways than one. I have never felt so good nor

have I been sick in over three years, not even a sniffle. "

 

Good for you. Thanks for the recipe. I urge everyone to join you in reading

Dr. Walker's excellent books.

 

CANCER THERAPY

 

M. L. writes:

 

" I just wanted to thank you for the positive articles on natural approaches

to cancer. I have ovarian cancer. I do all of the Gerson therapy and have

seen terrific results. "

 

Wonderful news. Be sure to consider an excellent article by Hugh D. Riordan,

M.D. on vitamin C fighting ovarian and other cancer posted at

http://www.doctoryourself.com/riordan1.html .

 

ART DEPARTMENT

 

Watercolor sketches and line drawings by my father, Warren E. Saul, are on

public display at http://www.doctoryourself.com/contentsWES.html . I hope

you enjoy them.

 

PHOTO OPS

 

Yes, our pets are health nuts, too. Here is the (photo)graphic proof:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/cat1.html

 

READERS SAY

 

O. M. writes:

 

" I agree with you completely about the healing powers of vitamin C. I've

been taking 6 to 10 grams of Vitamin C every day for the last 26 years. Now

I'm 62 years-old, and I never get sick.

 

" I read Linus Pauling's book, CANCER AND VITAMIN C back in the mid '70s. I

still have my much-marked-up copy. In 1977, I gave up booze and became a

vegetarian. I exist mostly on living foods and home-distilled water. I

exercise modestly every day, including long walks.

 

 

" Most of my peers here in the tropics are sick, sick people. Yet none of

them will even consider giving up alcohol, meat, or prescription drugs.

Their illnesses and degenerative conditions have become the pivot point of

their lives. I'm considered eccentric because I eat " rabbit food. "

 

" So be it. I've learned that you can't change people; you can only change

yourself. I'm happy and deeply contented. There is nothing on my wish list.

I attribute much of my good fortune to mega-doses of vitamin C. My most

recent blessing was finding your electronic newsletter. You're a gifted

writer and a kindred spirit. "

 

Aw, shucks. Thank you for the kind words, and for sharing your success.

 

FIBROIDS

 

" I have suffered from fibroids for 16 years. Because I am so slender, the

fibroid is easily palpated from the abdomen. Mine has shrunk from the size

of a lemon to the size of a 1/4 " thick pancake about 1 inch in diameter. I

tried many diets and supplements over the years and gave up dairy and meats.

It finally responded to coffee enemas daily and a raw foods diet. It took 5

weeks. This is much simpler than many other things that I tried. I enjoy

your newsletter; thank you for writing it. "

 

" Jennifer Daniels, M.D. "

 

Thank you. Dr. Daniels is describing a diet very much like the Gerson

therapy. A search for " Gerson " at http://www.doctoryourself.com will bring

up more information on this type of treatment. It is well worth a

therapeutic trial.

 

I ask readers to acquaint me (drsaul) with your own

experiences with fibroids, whether positive or negative. (No product

endorsements, please.)

 

DOCTOR YOURSELF ON THE AIR

 

Here are some of my upcoming radio interviews about my new book, " DOCTOR

YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works "

(http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html):

 

Billings, MONTANA: 1/7/2004 KBUL " Morning Bulletin " 10:30 am Eastern Time

 

Framingham, MASSACHUSETTS: 1/7/2004 Langer Broadcasting, " Adeline's

Chronicles " 9:30 am Eastern Time

 

Cowan, TENNESSEE: 1/13/2004 WZYX " Sound Off " 10:55 am Eastern Time

 

Fairbanks, ALASKA: 1/20/2004 IRN " The Michael Dresser Show " 10 pm Eastern

Time

 

(Please adjust for your local time zone.)

 

IMITATION IS NOT ALWAYS FLATTERY

 

A REMINDER that the ONLY mail I send out to my mailing list rs is

this Newsletter and **nothing but** this Newsletter, twice monthly. If you

receive anything else purporting to be from " drsaul " it

is completely bogus, possibly a virus, and usually spam. It is most

certainly not from me. Yes, spammers routinely make up phony return

addresses to attempt to cover their tracks. (But if you examine the full

" headers " of such messages, you will see where they really come from, and

can complain directly to that internet service provider.)

 

I send NO advertisements, ever, and endorse NO products whatsoever. And I

never send " attachments " of any kind. You should never open attachments from

anyone due to the risk of computer viruses that may be contained in them.

 

Free downloadable antivirus software (not a trial edition, no ads, free

updates, and I use it personally) is available from http://www.grisoft.com .

(Select " Download AVG Free Edition. " ) Remarkably, updates from the Grisoft

website are also free of charge. They are currently at update number 350,

which I think illustrates the magnitude of the computer virus problem.

 

Taking care of your computer is much like taking care of your body: an ounce

of prevention is worth a ton of cure.

 

HUMOR, SORT OF

 

Three very elderly-looking men were sitting around a table discussing the

secrets of longevity. The first man said, " The key to a long life is to eat

right, exercise regularly, take vitamins, never smoke or drink, get to bed

by 9 PM, and stay monogamous. I should know, " he added, " Because I am 93

years old. "

 

The second man, who seemed considerably older, had this to say:

 

" No, no, that's not enough. Let me tell you my regimen: Every morning I get

up at 4 AM, take a 10-mile run, eat bran and yogurt for breakfast, and then

work out in the gym for another two hours. For lunch I eat sprouts and

salad, and for dinner I have nothing but fresh vegetable juice. I've always

stayed celibate, and get to sleep by 7 PM every night. Now that is how you

live a long time, just like I have. And I celebrate my 110th birthday next

week. "

 

The third man, so bent over that his head barely cleared the tabletop, was

obviously far grayer and more worn and wrinkled than the other two. He

leaned forward on his two canes, one in each hand, coughed a bit, and spoke

in a very low, gravelly voice:

 

" You are both all wet, " he sputtered. " Now here's what I do: Every day I

sleep until noon, have a quart of bourbon for lunch, smoke fifteen cigars a

day, eat a two-pound steak for supper, down a quart of whiskey, and chase

the ladies till dawn. "

 

" Really? " asked the first man.

 

" How old are you, anyway? " asked the second man.

 

The third man replied, " Twenty-six. "

 

There may be a very, VERY subtle message in this joke. Happy New Year!

 

Privacy Statement:

 

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that there is no advertising at http://doctoryourself.com and no advertising

in this newsletter. We have no financial connection with the supplement

industry. We do not sell vitamins or other health products, except for Dr.

Saul's books, which help fund these free public services.

 

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dynews-

 

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This newsletter is not in any way offered as

prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or

physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program

necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one

should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from

a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

 

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service marks of Andrew W. Saul. All rights reserved.

 

Copyright c 2004 and prior years Andrew W. Saul drsaul .

Permission to reproduce single copies of this newsletter FOR NON-COMMERCIAL,

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For information about my new book, " DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that

Works " please go to http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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